John Wyndham: The Day of the Triffids (2002, RosettaBooks)
"All the reality of a vividly realized nightmare," The Times of London wrote of John Wyndham's terrifying post-apocalyptic thriller The Day of the Triffids, published in 1951. The novel is often labeled science fiction, but it might best be described as a completely unnerving fantasy, even at the distance of half a century- for nothing dates this story of a world rendered helpless by a frightening, unearthly phenomenon.Triffids are odd but interesting plants that seem to appear in everyone's garden. They are curiosities, but little more, until an event occurs …
"All the reality of a vividly realized nightmare," The Times of London wrote of John Wyndham's terrifying post-apocalyptic thriller The Day of the Triffids, published in 1951. The novel is often labeled science fiction, but it might best be described as a completely unnerving fantasy, even at the distance of half a century- for nothing dates this story of a world rendered helpless by a frightening, unearthly phenomenon.Triffids are odd but interesting plants that seem to appear in everyone's garden. They are curiosities, but little more, until an event occurs that alters human life -- what appears to be a meteor shower, spectacular at first, turns into a bizarre green inferno that has blinded virtually everyone and rendered humankind helpless. Even stranger, spores from the inferno have caused triffids to suddenly take on lives of their own -- large, crawling vegetation that uproot themselves and roam about, attacking humans and inflicting agony. William Masen happened to escape being blinded in the green inferno -- he was hospitalized with his eyes bandaged following surgery -- and he is now one of the few humans left who can see, who can avoid being attacked by triffids, who might be able to save mankind from the chaos and possible extinction threatened by this cataclysm.The Day of the Triffids is generally held to be John Wyndham's finest novel, and it was his first significant work. His style has been described aptly as "speculative fiction." The real power of The Day of the Triffids is not in its pure invention but in its matter-of-fact depiction of bizarre phenomena occurring in the midst of day-to-day life. The narrative voice of William Masen is calm and reasoned throughout as he describes the ongoing nightmare and his attempt to prevail, recalling the struggle from an almost historical perspective. Wyndham tells a mesmerizing story in The Day of the Triffids, one that has lost none of its quiet terror.
eBook
English language
Published Aug. 13, 2002 by RosettaBooks.
Content warning Spoiler alert.
The plot is a bit spoiled as the novel served as inspiration for the equally disturbing/terrifying movie "28 Days Later", though there are no zombies in this one. More than one heartbreaking scene in this book, so reader beware.
Where and when you find a book will determine your view of it. For me it was 1973 on my family's little farm at Canowindra. I was ten, I loved Alfred Hitchcock's Three Investigators and the Brains Benton mysteries. My Mum and older brother were digging John Wyndham so I picked up "The Day of the Triffids", aware that it was an "adult" book, a new experience for me. I think it might have blown my tiny mind. I was like Dave Bowman, a normal human when I started, and an embryonic trans-galactic starchild by the end.
Nowadays, whether it's "Station 11", "The Last of Us" or "Sweet Tooth" the apocalypse is front of mind. But back then there was "Triffids" and George Stewart's "Earth Abides", written in 1951 and 1949 respectively. After that, there'd be a long time between (fictional) world-shattering catastrophes. These two are the ones to …
Where and when you find a book will determine your view of it. For me it was 1973 on my family's little farm at Canowindra. I was ten, I loved Alfred Hitchcock's Three Investigators and the Brains Benton mysteries. My Mum and older brother were digging John Wyndham so I picked up "The Day of the Triffids", aware that it was an "adult" book, a new experience for me. I think it might have blown my tiny mind. I was like Dave Bowman, a normal human when I started, and an embryonic trans-galactic starchild by the end.
Nowadays, whether it's "Station 11", "The Last of Us" or "Sweet Tooth" the apocalypse is front of mind. But back then there was "Triffids" and George Stewart's "Earth Abides", written in 1951 and 1949 respectively. After that, there'd be a long time between (fictional) world-shattering catastrophes. These two are the ones to beat in the post-apocalypse sub-genre.
"The Day of the Triffids" has so much going for it... the marvelously original nature of the catastrophe; the addition of the triffids as its unlikely second wave; the role of industry and military in both these disasters; the reality of re-establishing agriculture and manufacturing when scavenging becomes impossible; the competing rebuilding strategies, be they military or science based, regressive or progressive; the relative futility of redundant moral positions, like monogamy.
The main female character, who pre-apocalypse had been a controversial author of mainstream erotica, is another great Wyndham woman. Yet again the influence of the author's partner Grace Wilson is in evidence. In a short novel, characterisation is handled economically. The relationship between Masen and Josella is beautifully complemented by the arrival of their adopted daughter Susan, giving the book a bit more heart than much SF of the time.
It's also the kind of apocalypse where the survivors are like the chosen ones. Much as mass death and disease are not fun, you can't help imagining what it would be like to be one of the survivors. I don't think this makes it what Brian Aldiss called a 'cosy catastrophe'. There is a certain sentimentality in the novel, as the characters say goodbye to the old world as they see it decaying. It's a sort of warm, loving sadness, but it is not 'cosy'. I get the sense that there was a bit of generational rivalry between Aldiss, as a representative of the 60s new wave, and Wyndham, a pre-war pulp alumnus, albeit one who tried to be innovative and forward-looking like the 60s writers who came after him.
I can't think of a single quibble about this book. I don't think it's dated, unless you also think "The Time Machine" or "The War of the Worlds" are dated because of their contemporary setting.
Grand classique
